Archive for the ‘Women in Finance’

The role of compliance officers is changing a lot. I have seen the way that that companies are going down solely because there is no much corruption in the corporate world. I would really like to see more leaders stepping up. I am thankful that there are organizations that have compliance officers like Helane Morrison in place to keep the amount of corruption down. Helane Morrison is among the best in the compliance officer arena, but there is a reason for this.

What I have noticed in recent years is that companies are hiring compliance offices in a way that gives them a much broader sense of responsibility. So much rides on the way that the company follows different policies and procedures. It is beneficial to organizations to have a jack-of-all trades in place when they get a compliance officer, and I believe that this is what Helane Morrison represents. She has become someone at Hall Capital that is there for general counsel, compliance issues and customer complaints. This is different from her job with the San Francisco Securities and Exchange Commission. Morrison wears many hats, but this has become something that she has vigorously prepared for down through the years.

I think that she is able to effectively take on a broad range of responsibility because she has been very active in so many other roles in corporate America. She has worked in journalism and obtained a degree in this field. She has handled litigation cases as a clerk and she even transitioned into a role as a lawyer. Morrison is used to wearing many titles and being many things to many different people. That has made her one to watch in the corporate world. She is fully aware of the high level of responsibility that she has, but she has never caved under the weight of her responsibilities.

In the world that Morrison is currently a part of she has to be able to handle a large summation of differently counsel inquiries. Her role is complex inside the walks of a financial investment firm like Hall Capital because there are so many powerful clients that rely on this company. Her ability to juggle this level of responsibility is impressive, and I can say that she has lit a fire under so many that are entering the corporate world. She shows that compliance offers are highly-valued corporate leaders.

The 2007-2008 financial crises served as an eye opener to the underhand deals and corruption in the corporate world. People were shocked as companies and banks that were thought to be reputable crushed. The crisis caused stock markets to collapse and unemployment to increase too.

Investigations done post-crisis revealed falsified and destroyed documents plus false audit claims. People’s faith in the corporate world and banks was lost. Insecurity and mistrust of the corporate world set in. Unfortunately, the feeling of mistrust is still evident after nine years. According to a study done by Wall Street Journal, only 28% of the citizens think the economy is set on the right track. Moreover, investors and economist predict that the feeling of instability is unlikely to improve due to the upcoming 2016 election.

According to Yale Hirsch the founder of Hirsch organization, there is a correlation between presidential election, stock markets and the economy. Evidently, stock markets have been known to slow down as investors wait to see the impact of the election and the organization of the fiscal policy thereafter.

The upcoming election combined with the not forgotten financial crisis make people wary of investing. The safety of an investment is not entirely assured. The risk of being exploited by an unworthy financial planner is always there and the option of carrying all transaction solely is too cumbersome and with risks too.

Morrison new cause is fight for gender balance in the corporate world. Born in Brooklyn, Morrison has a Journalism and law degree from Northwestern University and California Berkeley School of Law respectively. She serves as board member in great organizations such as the American Bar Association hedge fund subcommittee and Regional Parks Foundation.